John Quincy Adams
July 11, 1767 - February 23, 1846
Served as President from 1825-29
Vice President: John C. Calhoun
Democratic-Republican/ Whig
Theme: Slavery

John Quincy Adams was a strong believer that slavery was wrong and that by the Constitution statement “All men are created equal,” he believed that this also included African Americans. He firmly stressed his opinions on this matter but did not to really help it until after his term served as presidency.

Our sixth president of the United States serving from March 4 1825 to March 4, 1829 (a one term president) deserves a Grade of a C for his term served as presidency. His term help America grow economically, foreignly, and socially. All mostly resulting in a better Country in the end.

In John Q. Adams inaugural address he was sworn in on a book containing the United States laws rather then the more traditional Bible. During his address he swore that he would do his best to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution. Also he wanted to create a better transport system; build a national university and an astronomical observatory in the U.S., which he proposed in his first annual message to congress.

John Quincy Adams didn’t really have the best relationship with Congress. Congress is to believe to be the one who prevented Adams from prospering and succeeding. His thoughts and ideas caused conflicts between him and Congress. However by some chance they both agreed on the Tariff of 1828 otherwise know and the Tariff of Abominations.

In the begging of his presidency the Erie Canal was completed (started in 1817) this fueling his enthusiasm even more to provide canals and roads for the American citizens. His involvement and push for railroads and water systems was most likely the best thing that happened during his presidency. He continued to build roads and canals and some universities. In 1828, near the end of his presidency the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad started.
John Q. Adams tried to advocate federal support for an astronomical observatory. However the people thought that their money could be better spent elsewhere. They thought that the money could be used to help fix the problems the nation already had.

The Tariff of Abominations, which were meant to be protective tariffs for American industry against European goods. Was probably the worst thing that happened during his presidency. This drove up prices of goods in America for each person. It took the prices of manufactured goods and increased them and also decreased the prices of wool. The south specifically did not like this. They felt like they were being discriminated against vs. the other parts of the nation. They thought that this could lead to more issues and involvement with slavery.

President John Q. Adams was involved in foreign policies in his time. He didn’t want America to be continuing their involvement in wars away from home. He achieved treaties of reciprocity with a few nations. However because of his involvement in foreign policies before he became president there weren’t a lot of issues to deal with then. However because of his overall role in foreign policies he pretty much shaped America’s foreign policy.


In the end America probably would have been the same if he didn’t become president. The most important things that he did happened before and after his presidency. So if he didn’t become president some of those this might not have happened. Over his entire presidency deserves a C in the end.

Works Cited
"American President: A Reference Resource." Miller Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. <http://millercenter.org/president>.
"John Quincy Adams - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Quincy_Adams>.
"n/a." n/a. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnquincyadams>.